There is clearly soteriological heresy in the SBC

The long lament of SBC leaders concerns declining baptisms. The weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth was intensified last June when the lowest number of baptisms was reported since 1946, when Georgia’s Louie Newton was SBC president. The drop was called a “freefall.” Thom Ranier, LifeWay head said that “evangelism and discipleship are waining” in the SBC. Frank Page said that we should all “lament the poor state of our churches, our lack of evangelistic fervor, and our increasingly irrelevant programs.”

Indeed. We are accustomed to the June swoon of SBC leaders when the baptism figures are released.

So, we should all be pleased to have J. D. Greear as a nominee for SBC president, since his church has baptized 4,326 over the past six years, an average of 721 per year. Shouldn’t we?

Apparently not, since anti-Greear voices have found creative ways to diminish the success of The Summit in reaching people for Christ and seeing that they are baptized.

The first line of complaint is that Greear’s church is a multi-site mega-church but dividing the baptism totals up among the various church sites or even generating a ratio of baptisms to membership still shows The Summit as far above the SBC average.

So, the approach is to say that Greear has a soteriological problem. This, of course, flows from the anti-Calvinist zealots who are then faced with the problem of someone they label a Calvinist who does stellar and exemplary work in the area of evangelism. Thus, the talking point for the anti-Greear crowd is that his evangelism is fine but his soteriology is flawed.

Consider this hacker and plodder to be puzzled as to how one can have flawed soteriology and yet have authentic evangelism at the same time. Are those baptized not saved? Did they receive a false Gospel? Is an equivalience being made between The Summit’s evangelism and that of the Latter Day Saints or Jehovah’s Witnesses where there are converts and baptisms but they aren’t saved?

Let’s be honest, though, and acknowledge that we clearly have soteriological heresy in the SBC. That heresy is an old one and has been labeled “functional universalism.” It abounds. It is the unspoken but clearly practiced belief that somehow, some way, everyone will end up in heaven with Jesus.

I wish Adrian Rogers, the most outstanding SBCer in the last half of the 20th century, was still around. He’s not but one can usually find a key quote on most problems facing the SBC. How about this (and I may be slightly paraphrasing it):

“In doctrine you can be just as straight as a gunbarrel and just as empty.”

The baptisteries of a good portion of the 47,272 SBC churches will be empty as well this year.

Here is an expression of J. D. Greer’s soteriology, in his own words:

For the record, I believe Jesus died for all people, that every person can and should be called to repent and believe, and that you haven’t fully preached the gospel if you haven’t called for that response. #GospelAboveAll

I often come back to the prophet Isaiah’s words: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isa 59:1). In other words, the hesitation is not in God; it’s in us. God has not changed. He still desires to extend his salvation to the ends of the earth, he still has the power to do it, and he still plans to use us. The question is, are we prepared for him to move? How We Can Reverse Our Downward Trend of Baptisms

Realistically, the office of SBC president has little to do with baptisms. All SBC presidents are in favor of increased evangelism and baptisms and all of the SBC presidents in my memory pastored churches with outstanding records in this area.

There is soteriological heresy afoot in the Grand Old SBC. Thousands of SBC pastors are guilty of it. Some of these are Calvinists. Some of them are Traditionalists.

J. D. Greear is not one of them.

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About William Thornton

William Thornton is a lifelong Southern Baptist and semi-retired pastor who served churches in South Carolina and Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. You may find him occasionally on Twitter @wmgthornton.

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Trent Weaver

“Functional Universalism” indeed! I don’t think I have heard that phrase before, but it works. That covers the issues of A. nominal Christianity in the pews and B. The belief that someone ‘professional’ should evangelize under the same umbrella.

April 23, 2018 11:40 am

Bill Mac

At what point do we just call this slander? The traditionalists are skating right up to the line without (or so they think) going over, and then trying to push the line. I wonder if they will have the guts to take to the floor of the SBC with all these accusations? I feel kinda bad for Hemphill for being associated with this group.

Local missions and practical ministry should be the focus not baptisms. To increase baptisms we must leave our seats and go to the streets meeting practical needs of the poor, with a view towards evangelism. The definition of “poor” includes faith, finance, and spirit. As we meet those needs we engage a people who probably would not walk into any church and who are unlikely to meet a witness of Christ in their world.

April 23, 2018 12:05 pm

Tarheel_Dave

Good article, William.

For kicks and giggles you should have called the heresy you speak of; “neo-functional universalism”.

I hear adding neo to a phrase makes it hipper and cooler – yet ironically more pejorative.

“The baptisteries of a good portion of the 47,272 SBC churches will be empty as well this year.”

That quote and reality should break us, crush us and even make us mad. We should be filled with a holy discontent and commit ourselves and then our churches to start pushing back against the lostness in our land.

You might not like J.D. Greear’s hair, beard, clothes, jokes, preaching style, etc but the church he leads is pushing back against the growing lostness both here in NC and across the globe. Is The Summit perfect? No way and they will readily tell you that not everyone “gets it” who is a member. Know of any SBC church where every member is fully engaged in sharing the gospel, making disciplemakers and gathering/building new churches? I don’t but when one is burning bright on less than full engagement then I say go brother!

I spent Saturday with 75 fellow believers training and learning why we have to share this great news of Jesus Christ, who we share with, when we share it and how and some lights flicked on that day. I heard some ask why isn’t my church actively engaging our community where they are and not from inside the walls of a church building. Long day of training, 8-5, and I had my kids with me. After lunch my group had but 30-45 minutes to knock on doors in our assigned neighborhood. I left lunch and my first thought was we only have 30 minutes then the Holy Spirit turned my heart and mind to remind me that a lot can happen in thirty minutes. We had two gospel conversations with professed believers who are not walking with the Lord. Prayed with one divorced father twice. He almost left his kids after a difficult custody fight. He is from a Pentacostal background and does not have assurance of his salvation. I would say that he has not put his faith fully in Jesus. He said that he was in brokenness and we shared the peace and love that we can have with Jesus. No greenlight that day but it was a start.

A start is what we need in our SBC churches. A return to our first love of sharing the light of Christ in our neighborhoods and a dedication to personal evangelism and disciplemaking as a rhthym of life. Let us get those baptismal waters swirling on a weekly basis and reach this world for Christ!

April 23, 2018 12:45 pm

Alan Cross

These controversies are not about soteriology, in my view. All of this arguing is about power, not theology. Which group has power and which group can run things. Theology is used as a front for trying to maneuver for power and control. That is my take on it, anyway. I do not believe that the concern is about salvations, baptisms, or sharing the gospel. The concern is far more tribal than that, with some old leaders and their proteges trying to keep control. My opinion, of course, but I believe it is informed.

April 23, 2018 2:47 pm

David Light

Alan, I’m largely on board with you, but how far are you willing to carry that logic? Would you say the same of the Conservative Resurgence? Or would you frame it differently in that case?

I think the CR and the current traditionalist camp come from the same place: a fear that enemies have subverted SBC institutions and are using them to produce more and more leaders who are fundamentally not in line with what the SBC should be about.

So I think that neither group, if you asked, would say “we want to seize power for the sake of seizing power.” Rather they would say something more like “We want to seize power so we can carry out our agenda and save the SBC,” although I admit that in the case of traditionalists, I’m fuzzy on what their agenda *is* other than “we feel marginalized and we don’t like it one little bit.”

(I mean, “we want to seize power so we can do X” is also why political parties want to win ELECTIONS, and you don’t hear anyone saying THAT’S not driven by pursuit of power. So like I said, I’m with you! Just curious whether you see the same parallels with the CR as I do and, if so, whether that softens your view of the traditionalists at all. Or changes your view of the CR!)

April 23, 2018 3:44 pm

Tarheel_Dave

The CR was about biblical fidelity and inerrancy. I see your point that a power play was afoot in the sense of wrestling power and therefore the SBC from heretical directions contrary to the gospel. I see that as demonstrably and profoundly different than the traditionalist movement that formed and started circa 2012…

The traditionalist movement power brokers are simply about control and power (in the traditional sense of the word) their fight isn’t against heretics who, if they remain in SBC power, place the fundamentals of the faith at stake (like the CR was) but simply against those they disagree with – fellow believers and faithful Christians who hold differing orthodox views on secondary and tertiary matters.

If the Trads think the Cals are heretics and compromisers of the fundamental tenets of the faith/gospel – then they really ought to say so clearly and unambiguously and seek to remove all from any positions of power in the SBC and further move that any church within the SBC who is Calvinistic in any way be declared to not be in friendly cooperation therefore having any and all of their members currently on boards removed and credentials of messengers at the convention revoked.

David, I’m a conservative Biblically, and am strong on the inerrancy of Scripture. I don’t think man is infallible in interpretation, but God’s Word is infallible, inerrant, and true. That said, if there were ways that CR leaders acted that violated Scripture in how they treated people so they could grab power to produce good ends, then that is also a problem. Eventually, it just becomes about the power and having your group in control.

I came along after the CR so I don’t personally know an SBC that didn’t go through it. I’m just saying that how you do something also matters. If that applies to the CR, then so be it. I’ll leave that to God as I wasn’t there.

A clever phrase, Tarheel, would have been “neo-evangelism” except that it isn’t neo- anything. I’ve heard the phrase for years.

I generally agree, Alan, and it saddens me that there cannot be, evidently, a positive campaign between two good men. The militant Trads who believe they are saving the convention (their cry of “year-after-year-after-year” contested elections bode ill for the future) must manufacture issues and then present them with their hair on fire. Thus…where we are.

That definitely shows a hostility toward the truth – the way that entire thing was handled. Capstone is a shameful blight on the SBC.

April 23, 2018 11:00 pm

Steve McClain

I would hope that the ministry of the church I pastor results in more changed lives that are sold out to Jesus than in the number of people that get wet. Yes its a Baptist church and yes we tell people that on our sign out front. I understand the deep doctrinal signifigance of baptism, but if we are not careful as a denomination, we will find ourselves patting ourselves on the back over the number of baptisms we have and NOT hold ourselves accountable for the number of lives that are changed and Heaven focused. Baptisms are easier to count though.